Prophet Motive (episode)
Grand Nagus Zek has become a philanthropist, and Quark worries that he may have gone insane. Summary We find a young woman (Emi) grasping Quark's ears from behind, presumably giving him or leading up to oo-mox, as he is obviously enjoying the experience. She is attempting to get Quark to finalize a deal whereby she will purchase self-sealing stem bolts from him, but he says it can wait since Emi's family will not return to Deep Space 9 for another week. Rom enters Quark's quarters and ruins the party, telling his brother that they need to leave. However, it is too late; Grand Nagus Zek and his servant Maihar'du enter behind Rom moments later. Although Zek's head is covered and Maihar'du does not speak as usual, it seems the Nagus plans to move in with Quark. Elsewhere on DS9, Doctor Bashir is called to the wardroom, where he learns that he has been nominated for the Carrington Award, the Federation's most prestigious medical award, and finds the entire senior staff waiting for him. However, he seems less than enthusiastic, to everyone's surprise. He later confides in Dax that he knows he has no chance of winning due to his youth. Meanwhile, Quark has moved into Rom's quarters and found living with his brother unbearable. He decides that the two of them – or rather, Rom – will go to the Nagus to find out what is going on. As soon as he observes that Zek is more than happy to see Rom, Quark comes out from his nearby hiding place and greets the Nagus. Quark and Rom find that Zek has composed his "crowning achievement": The Rules of Acquisition – Revised for the Modern Ferengi. Zek gives them a copy and leaves them to read it; Quark is excited, until he reads the first rule in it: "If they want their money back, give it to them." Quark attempts to find some sort of master plan in the Nagus' work, looking for a secret code hidden within the "new rules", but he can find none. Still convinced the new rules are part of a scheme, he decides to go along with it for now. He and Rom find the Nagus in Quark's Bar, where Zek buys a round of drinks for everyone. His "new side" shows no signs of going away. Upon returning to his quarters that night, Quark finds that Zek has turned it into the new headquarters of the Ferengi Benevolent Association, of which Rom is the head. Contrary to normal Ferengi values, the association seems to have been created for the same purpose its name implies: helping other people, free of charge. Finally, Quark takes Zek to Dr. Bashir, who examines the older Ferengi throroughly but finds nothing wrong. While in the Infirmary, Zek mentions that he will be giving a gift to the Bajoran people that night at the Bajoran shrine. Quark and Rom sneak onto the Nagus' shuttle to find what the "gift" is, and there they find Maihar'du waiting for them. He reveals that the gift is a Bajoran Orb. After an odd orb experience, Quark learns that the new rules were a "gift" from the Bajoran Prophets to Zek. Together, he and Rom discover that, as soon as he received the Orb, Zek headed for the Bajoran wormhole, apparently intent on using the Prophets' abilitiy to see the future for financial gain. Quark determines to go in himself and find out what happened. As all of this has transpired, Dr. Bashir has to put up with the buzz about the Carrington. Even Odo is caught up in the craze, offering a "revelation" from a distant contact on one of the candidates who supposedly will not win the award. inside the wormhole.]] Maihar'du helps Quark and Rom kidnap Zek and take him into the wormhole aboard his ship. Throughout the ordeal, he remains extremely pleasant and not disturbed at all. Once inside the wormhole, Quark opens the Orb of Wisdom (as Zek reveals it is called), instantly gaining the wormhole aliens' attention. They decide to change Quark as they did Zek, but he manages to convince them that doing so will only bring more Ferengi who will want to know what happened. The Prophets set Zek back to normal. When the Carrington award is announced, Bashir finds it has gone to Henri Roget rather than himself. As much has he has told everyone that he knows he will not win, however, he seems disappointed upon hearing the results. Meanwhile, Zek has decided to sell -- not give -- the Orb to the Bajoran people. He closes the Benevolent Association and makes sure all copies of the "revised" Rules of Acquisition are destroyed. Once the Nagus is gone, Quark discovers that Rom has proven himself a true Ferengi; as the Senior Administrator of the association, Rom embezzled from the Nagus. Quark congratulates him. Memorable Quotes "Are you acusing my son as a thief?" "No. I'm acusing you as a thief!" : - Rom and Quark "It must be some kind of code. Read me the first word of every Rule." "If... never... keep... profit... a... good... smile... honesty..." "Aha! If never keep profit a good smile honesty." "What does it mean?" "... Absolutely nothing." : - Quark and Rom "There can't be anything ''Beyond greed! Greed is the purest and most noble of emotions!" : - '''Quark' "I have a friend at Starfleet Intelligence. And she has a friend who has a cousin who's married to the assistant of one of the members of the Federation Medical Council." "Really?" "And according to my friend, her friend heard something from his cousin that his wife heard from this council member that I thought you might find interesting." "Which is?" "Doctor Wade is not going to win the Carrington." : - Odo and Bashir "Yes, the Zek explained the value of gain. How more is preferable to less." "He taught you about profit." "We found the concept... Agressive. Adversarial. Dangerous. We could not comprehend how any species could lead such a barren existence." "It has its advantages." : - Prophets and Quark "Rom! I have got a plan." "Does it involve me brother?" "Not really." "Ah... I like it." : - Quark and Rom Background Information * This is the first episode to be directed by Rene Auberjonois. * William N. Stape, who concocted the TNG episode , was an uncredited story source for this episode. * Referenced Ferengi Rules of Acquisition: #10 * Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko) does not appear in this episode. * For brief time, a new set of Rules of Acquisition replaces the old one, some of them are: ** 1: If they want their money back give it to them. ** 10: Greed is dead. ** 21: Never place profit before friendship. ** 22: Latinum tarnishes, but family is forever. ** 23: Money can never replace dignity. ** 285: A good deed is its own reward. * Bashir is the youngest of the candidates for the Carrington Prize of 2371. The others are April Wade, Senva, Henry Roget, and Ghee P'Trell. Links and References Guest Stars * Max Grodénchik as Rom * Juliana Donald as Emi * Tiny Ron as Maihar'du ;And: * Wallace Shawn as Zek Co-Stars * Bennet Guillory as "Medical Big Shot" * Mark Allen Shepherd as Morn (uncredited) References Aldebaran whiskey; Andoria; Bajoran Shrine; Bajoran Prophets; Bajoran wormhole; biomolecular replication; Cardassia III; cargo bay; Carrington Award; Chirurgeon; Central Hospital of Altair IV (Altair IV); champagne; contract; Dax, Curzon; darts; Federation Medical Council; Ferengi; Ferengi Alliance; Ferengi Benevolent Association; Ferengi shuttle; Ferengi Rules of Acquisition; Ferenginar; gerontology; Grand Nagus; Healer; Hupyrian beetle snuff; Hupyrians; Ishka; Kohlanese barley; latinum; millipede juice; Nog; Orb of Wisdom; Pakled; P'Trell, Ghee; racquetball; reverse-ratcheting routing planers; Roget, Henri; "Rules of Acquisition: Revised for the Modern Ferengi, The"; Sacred Marketplace; Saurian brandy; self-sealing stem bolts; Senva; solar flare; Starfleet Intelligence; Tower of Commerce; Trixian bubble juice; University of Nairobi (Nairobi); Vulcan Medical Institute (Vulcan); Wade, April; Zek's shuttle |next= }} Category:DS9 episodes de:Das Motiv der Propheten es:Prophet Motive nl:Prophet Motive